In Pursuit of a Princess

Gabriel sat up. “Hmm. Now that does make things interesting. So how did that reporter know about the painting being back at Kincade House?”

“I have no idea,” she replied, her voice low. “But this does give me pause.”

“Good. You need to pause and think about the danger of this situation.”

“I’ve thought about that a lot, I can assure you. If I stayed hidden from danger, I’d never leave my bedroom.”

Gabriel could understand her need to keep working, to keep moving. He’d been on his own so long, he’d learned to never be afraid of anything, but right now he had a deep dread inside his heart. “So you’ll allow that something odd is going on. Someone is leaking information, Princess.”

He glanced up front. The driver headed across town and exited off one of the main thoroughfares. Deidre had her nose buried in her smartphone, her thumbs tapping, tapping some sort of message.

Lara’s gaze followed his. “Would you like to stay for dinner again tonight, Mr. Murdock?”

Gabriel couldn’t miss an opportunity to take more pictures and to keep a close eye on the princess. This mystery was growing by the minute. In spite of his better judgment, he had to find out what was going on. He had a story here. A real story. He’d walked away before and that had put him here. It was like déjà vu all over again.

He shot a glance toward the front. “I’d love that.”

“Good.” She looked up again. “I think we have a lot to discuss.”

He nodded, and wondered if the princess had finally seen the light and come to her senses. If so, maybe he could sit back and relax a little bit.

But in the next second, that notion changed. A boom hit the dusk and the SUV started spinning out of control.

“Tire just blew out,” the driver shouted. Deidre screamed and dropped her phone.

Gabriel grabbed Lara, his eyes locked with hers. “Hold on,” he said, pushing her down against the seat.

The impact of the crash set them both up and back down.

He was still holding Lara when the vehicle finally stopped spinning.

FIVE

The silence stretched for a few seconds; then everyone starting talking at once.

Deidre’s sob echoed over the driver’s shouts.

“Everyone okay?” the dazed man kept shouting.

“Good. I think we’re good,” Gabriel said, hoping that was the truth. He searched Lara’s face, his nose inches from hers. “Are you all right?”

She nodded, gulped a breath. “Yes, thank you.”

The rush of adrenaline tapered off while he studied her big, frightened eyes. Ignoring Deidre’s screams and the driver’s foul language, he asked, “Are you sure?”

He didn’t mind holding her in his arms, but he was worried that she’d been injured. Checking closely for blood or bruises, he swept her hair away from her eyes.

“If you’ll please let me up—”

Gabriel sat up and lifted her, his gaze following her every move. “Any pain? Cuts, bruises?”

“I only hit my head, but I think I’m okay.”

Gabriel went into action then. “Driver, are you all right?”

The man nodded, but Gabriel saw a trace of blood slipping down the man’s face. “You need a doctor.”

Before he could check on Deidre, Lara pushed past him to touch the girl on her arm. “Deidre, how are you doing?”

“I’m fine,” Deidre said, crying again. “Just a little wobbly, ma’am.”

“I’ll call for help.” Gabriel opened the door and stared out onto the busy exit ramp. While he explained their location to the 911 operator, he noticed they’d left the freeway and landed on a side street that would take them back to the Garden District. The SUV had rolled up an embankment, probably due to the driver’s expertise. If the tire had blown when they’d been up on the busy thoroughfare, things could have been a lot worse. They might have plunged off the main artery and hit this road head-on.

The princess might have died.

His heart hammered a skittish warning beat that repeated not again, not again, not again. After checking on everyone once more, he found some water and gave it to Lara.

“Drink this,” he gently urged, his eyes locking with hers.

“It’s been a rather exciting day,” she said, her tone shaky but light. “And I told you nothing exciting ever happened to me.”

“You’re nothing but exciting,” he replied, very much aware that she was close to having a hissy fit. He hoped she didn’t go into shock.

But then, this was Her Royal Highness Lara Kincade. She took a dainty sip of the bottle of water, cleared her expression, touched a hand to her hair and then gave him a challenging glance. “May I please exit the vehicle? I need some air.”

Gabriel stepped back, did a visual of the area and then nodded. “Stay near me, please.”

She did the chin-lift thing. “Deidre, are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Deidre stayed in her seat, her head down. Every now and then Gabriel heard a sniffle. He handed her a bottle of water, too. But she just held it tightly in her hand.

“I can’t find my phone.”

“I’ll look for it,” the driver said. That busied him and kept Deidre focused.

And gave Gabriel a chance to whisper in Lara’s ear. “I don’t think this was an accident.”

She didn’t even flinch. “Neither do I.”

Gabriel kept checking the noisy highway above them and the streets surrounding them. “They could be watching right now.”

“I’m aware of that, too.”

“What do you want to do next?”

“Right now I want to go home and have a private fit.”

He smiled in spite of his jangled nerve endings. “What exactly happens when you have a private fit?”